The CrossFit Open is officially over, and the concluding workout 21.3 left a lot of us with a bad taste in our mouths. We were force-fed the bitter pill that we couldn’t do a legitimate pull-up, or toes-to-bar, or muscle-up, whatever it was, it was highlighted in full force, in front of all of our friends. Ouch.
This workout is always in the Open – maybe not in that exact format or with those movements – but one of the tests will always feature increasingly difficult movements that allow us to showcase our strength and skill, or lack thereof. This is the workout that really separates those with a strong engine from those with the engine and the skillset to compete at a higher level.
If it did not go as you had hoped, know that you are not alone, most of the Open participants experienced the same failure and frustration. But you can do something about it. While this painful experience is fresh in your mind, I want you to commit to LEAVE NO DOUBT next year. You will have that movement down. It will not be a weakness anymore in one year, it will be a strength. Work with a coach to identify a training plan to get yourself there. And then put in the patient, persistent work that it takes to accomplish an audacious goal like YOUR FIRST PULL-UP. It might seem like a long climb to get there, and maybe it is, but the mountain doesn’t bow down and get any smaller because you want it to. You get closer to the peak by taking the first step, and then the next, and the next, and all of a sudden it’s within sight.
Your goal has been chosen for you. Commit to a training plan that makes sense for where you are now and where you want to be in a year. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it will happen if you stay focused and keep climbing, one step at a time. And when that test comes next year, you’ll know that you put in the work and you’re ready. LEAVE NO DOUBT.